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Need a refillable Hair Gel? You can use flax seeds! Suited really well for wavy/curly hair, this DIY hair gel is all-natural and plastic-free. Flax seeds are usually available at bulk stores. The gelatinous natural of flax seeds helps to moisturize hair and give great definition to curls, without the crunchiness. Because it is made without preservatives, it will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator or keep frozen until ready to use. ​Tools for the job:

Flax seeds

Water

a small pot

fine mesh strainer

heat-resistant bowl

jar with a lid

essential oil you like

glycerin or aloe vera (optional)

1. In a small pot, add 2 cups water and ¼1/4 cup flax seed, heat on medium high. Stir well so the seeds don’t stick to the bottom. After a few minutes it should come to a rolling boil and you will see a white froth forming on the top of the mixture. When the consistency is gel-like you can then lower the heat and prepare the strainer. Pour through a strainer carefully, the mixture is hot. With the back of a wooden spoon (or spatula) press the seeds in the strainer to remove the remaining gel into the bowl. At this point you can add some extra hair boosting benefits. I add about a teaspoon of glycerin (or vitamin E oil when I have it), which acts as a preservative. The gel will continue to thicken as it cools.

Once the gel as cooled a little, the final step is optional but it also beneficial to your hair and nose. Add a few drops of essential oils like lavender or tea tree (good scalp stimulation) and any scent you prefer.

The gel will last 3 weeks in the refrigerator. You can make a large batch and then freeze it in smaller jars. Take a jar out of the freezer when ready to use and let it defrost overnight in the refrigerator then add in your essential oils.

The boiled flax seeds can be reused or eaten. I add them to my smoothies.

This recipe makes quite a bit so you may reduce the recipe by half for your next batch if you don’t use it up quickly enough.

I apply the gel to my hair when it's wet and use a liberal amount. I let me hair dry naturally and it keeps my natural waves looking good without the crunchy, dry feeling that I have experienced with other brands. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!Xoxo Angie

THE NEW PACKAGING IS HERE! Happy to say these little boxes are compact, lightweight and made with 75% post-consumer waste. Not only do they make good packaging, but they are also handy to use as a travel box for the Shampoo Bar...WIN-WIN!

For those that have not ordered our Shampoo Bars, the previous packaging was a compostable cellophane bag. Although I was confident in the compostable cellophane bag used, I learned that most were not able to or did not compost the bag at all.

Recycling and composting are NOT the same things. Plus bags can jam up recycling machinery and I would never want to learn that my thoughtful packaging had done such a thing.

To celebrate...there is a multi-pack discount deal on the website. Be sure to check it out! Save money and eliminate the wasteful plastic shampoo bottle.

Message me if you have any questions about out packaging or products.xo Angie

How To Stop Junk Mail At Home And Office:Even though I now do most of my business online, I am still amazed how much physical mail gets delivered to my mailbox.

In an effort to reduce my waste at home and stop the unnecessary paper mail I receive to my home and my business. Here are the five tactics I personally do on how to stop junk mail at home and work and now I want to share them with you.

CREDIT CARD OFFERS:Call 1-888-567-8688 (888-5OPT-OUT) or visit http://www.optoutprescreen.comYou can remove yourself for a five-year period or a permanent removal. Credit card companies you already do business with you can request to be added to there "in house" list so your information will not be sold or traded. Your Social Security Number and Date of Birth are not required to process your request. However, providing this information will help to ensure that we can successfully process your request. This website's security protocols and features are designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access or alteration.

DIRECT MAIL SOURCES:Do you still get ValPak coupons in the mail and never use them? How about from Bed, Bath & Beyond or Red Plum retail coupons? These publications never have coupons I use so I was happy to see they now offer online forms for me to unsubscribe from receiving these mailers. Occasionally I receive these coupons in the previous owners name. Use these two links to remove yourself and your address from their lists. https://www.redplum.com/tools/direct-mail-preferenceshttps://www.valpak.com/coupons/show/mailinglistsuppressionTo get off other direct mail sources, it’s important to remove your name exactly how it appears on their list. Every variation of your name and address is another name on a list. These different variations get sold to thousands of businesses.To keep track of all the variations, cut out the mailing labels from the mail piece and pop them into an envelope until you are ready to contact the company. Write the company information on the envelope (address and phone number of listed on the mailer). When you are ready to contact the company, either attach each label or rewrite your details EXACTLY as it appears on the label, put your signature beside each name variation with the following verbiage: "Please remove my name and address from your mailing lists and do not rent, sell or trade my name or address."This method is definitely not quick and requires more effort and money on your part. Snail mail is not free.

WARRANTY CARDS:I recently learned that I do not have to fill out the warranty card for stuff I buy in order to benefit form the warranty. Be sure to read the fine print first, but in most cases you are not required to return the registration card to validate a warranty. Registration and warranty cards are another way companies collect your data which they may sell or use to send direct mailers. If you must fill out a return form that includes your mailing address or make a purchase over the phone, BE SURE to also includes these VERY important words: “Please do not rent, sell, or trade my name or address."

DOWNLOADS & CONTESTS:When you see and offer for a free download, contest or giveaway it is usually the companies attempt to obtain your name for mailing lists or to sell you something. If you do sign up for one, be sure to use those very important words.I download free ebooks alot (more than I would like to admit) and there is never a space for me to type the words “Please do not rent, sell, or trade my name or address." so at a later date when their follow-up email or contact does arrive [because it always does], I simply use the unsubscribe option from the email or contact them separately and type those words in email.

CATALOGS:I call the number on the catalog and tell them I am no longer interested in receiving their printed version. If they have an online version, I will happily accept it.

I hope this helps you stop junk mail at home and work and curb the amount of unnecessary mail you receive. The less paper we waste, the more trees we can enjoy.Do you have a trick that you use to reduce getting junk mail? Please share it with me, I am always happy to learn more about reducing my waste.

How To Make Your Own Garlic PowderShopping seasonally is good for your taste buds, your wallet and for the farmers. One spice we use a lot in my home is garlic. I decided my resolution for the new year would be to grow more of what we eat. I’ve heard growing garlic is pretty easy and takes up little space but since I still have lots of bulbs on a beautiful garlic braid I bought last year, I thought learning to make my own garlic powder would be beneficial in my goal to reduce waste at home.

Things you will need:GarlicKnife or garlic peelerDehydrator or ovenGrinder, pestle and mortar or food processor

First a few tips BEFORE you begin making garlic powder.

Buy garlic when it is in season: late summer or early autumn. Garlic is available year-round, but you will get the freshest garlic at the best prices when you buy in season.

Think before using a plastic grinder. You can use a pestle and mortar, coffee grinder, spice grinder or a food processor but keep in mind that garlic is VERY pungent! The odor from garlic can be difficult to remove from small appliances especially those made with plastic. I have a coffee grinder I use specifically for for spices, I never use that grinder to blend coffee beans.

Pungent can overwhelm your home. My dehydrator is set up in the garage all the time. I like the smell of garlic and don’t mind the smell in my garage, but I may feel differently if my whole house smelled like garlic.

How To Make The Garlic Powder:First, peel the garlic cloves and cut into thin slices. Two handy tools I have owned for a long time is a garlic peeler and slicer. It was the best $20 I spent at a Pampered Chef party. Here is the link to Pampered Chef if you want to see the exact devices I’m referencing. http://bit.ly/2Tqgv8F

If you have these tools, now is the time to use them! If not, you can use the side of your knife to smash down the clove which will crack the skin and make skin removal easier, then slice the cloves into thin slices.Thinner slices will dry more quickly and evenly.

Place the garlic slices onto the food dehydrator sheet in a single layer, set the dehydrator to about 125 F and let it go for about 8 - 10 hours. If using your oven, heat the oven between 45°C (115°F) to 60°C (140°F) maximum. Place the garlic on parchment paper on a cookie sheet in a single layer. If your oven does not have a fan, you may need to keep the door open so the moisture can escape. Be careful not to heat the oven over 140 F or the garlic will discolor, cook and become bitter.

Test the garlic for doneness by breaking a chip between your fingers. When the chip snaps immediately and it feels brittle, they are done . If they bend, continue to dry and test the chips at least every 15 - 30 minutes until they reach the desired crispness.Once crispy, allow the garlic to cool. Then grind it to your desired consistency. You just made garlic powder!

​Storing your garlic powder:

Refill and old spice jar or use an air-tight container. Store with your spices. A cool, dry spot works best.

For the first week, shake the jar daily to evenly distribute any remaining moisture to prevent mold.

Properly dried garlic powder has a long shelf life of several years. If you make a lot of garlic powder at one time, you can freeze or vacuum pack the excess for longer storage.

Once finished making garlic powder, it is easy to make a separate jar of garlic salt. Simply take some of the garlic powder and add salt to taste. That’s it! Easy peasy garlic salt.I hope you are inspired to make your own garlic powder and garlic salt. xo Angie

Because of YOU,we are thrilled to report that the check was mailed to Eagle Warriors veterans organization.Because of the purchases you made over Veterans Day weekend,​we donated 50% of those profits to this amazing group.

Supporting this veterans is so important,but giving a discount on goods ans services in not good enough.Giving a discount or promo code does nothing to help veterans, only the customer.​Heck, it's nice to get a deal but Veterans Day should be about them, not us.

So instead of discounts, we gave from our profit. We mailed them a check for $75.00!When signing the check, it did not feel like a lot {I wished it was more} but then I reminded myself that every bit matters.If we everyone mailed them $75.00, can you imagine the benefits they could make available to the veterans they support!Eagle Warriors is a non-profit helping those that have helped us beyond words.

So I want to personally thank YOU for making a purchase on Veterans Day.If you missed it, then you'll be happy to know we will do it again next year, and the year after that...and they years after that! New veterans are coming home from service every day, it's important we keep helping and supporting people like Eagle Warriors, who are actively engaged helping out those you very much deserve our help and respect.

We’ve partnered with EagleWarriors.org, to donate 50% of the profits earned this Veterans Day weekend from 11/9 - 11/12/2018 midnight. Eagle Warriors do a lot for veterans, including supporting VA hospices with toiletries and Christmas cards. The biggest support Eagle Warriors provides is funding to the Combat Hero Bike Build. (details below)

They also provide medical staff for the annual RFTW.us memorial ride. A motorcycle ride from California to Washington, DC every May with over 1,800 riders! See the picture listed here...impressive, right!

Eagle Warriors support....

Combat Hero Bike Build​Many of our wounded are experienced "bikers" but now have injuries that limit their ability to be free.Combat Hero Bike Build picks up the cost of rebuilding, or modifying existing bikes, to help get veterans back mentally to where they need and want to be.ny have died defending the freedoms we enjoy every day. The more we sell this weekend, the more we can donate to the Eagle Warriors and they will make sure the money goes to the right places. No middle-man. No admin fees.50% of our profits made on sales from NOW through midnight Monday, November 12, 2018. SHOP NOW.It's the perfect opportunity to get your holiday shopping done while supporting the amazing men & women of our nation who have fought for the rights we enjoy every day. #neverforgetA 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to serve our severely wounded combat veterans. It is a program designed by warriors, for warriors, to give our wounded heroes the freedoms they once enjoyed.

Reduce the waste by making your own. A few years ago, I started taking a solid look at what we use most in the kitchen. Turns out we are addicted to nut milk and nut butter.

Looking at health instead of waste made it easy to ignore the impact my food preferences were having on the environment. Buying the "healthier option" aka non-dairy milk seemed better, after all, I wasn't buying those big plastic jugs. Unfortunately, those cartons that nut milk come in are NOT recyclable, so really; what difference is there?

So, upon reflection of how I could better "balance" the healthy choice with my care of the environment, I knew the best option was to make nut milk at home. I could easily use a glass jar and refill it - forever...never having to throw away another carton.

BUT -- could I really do it?

Make my own milk, every week!

At the time we were going through 2 -3 cartons a week. That seemed like a lot of work I was going to have to do to keep up without nutty addiction.

Instead of over thinking it, I ordered a "nut bag".

Yes, it's called a"nut bag" and each time I told my husband about my conceived efforts, he giggled.

I'm not sure if he was laughing at me or the thought of me using a nut bag regularly. First, I had to explain what a nut bag was and that it would not come between us! LOL

I used that nut bag for years...and many times I hated it!

Honestly, I didn't need MORE to do in my life, I needed my life to be easier BUT also I didn't want my habits to cause more harm to the environment aka waste.

I already had wrist issues and squeezing that nut bag several times a week grew old REALLY QUICK!

Soon, hubby started helping out. I would soak and blend the nuts and he would squeeze.

The end result is we were doing something together, as little as it was, togetherness breeds conversation and laughter which leads to closeness.

I won't say the nut bag brought us closer together, we've always had a great relationship - it did bring out new conversations.

We talked about our food habits and how we could improve them. We talked about making changes we could both live with and feel like it was good for us and the planet.

The reality is, I only make cleaning products; I’m not an expert cleaner. I am always learning about “how” to clean. One of my favorites resources to learn some solid cleaning advice is Melissa over at CleanMySpace She is practical and often has a variety of green cleaning options and I really like that!

If you are not familiar with her, Melissa Maker is host of the CleanMySpace YouTube channel and founder of Clean My Space, a housekeeping service based in her native Canada. With an ever-expanding community of YouTube subscribers (over 850,000 as of Jan 2018) and over 100,000,000 video views, Melissa dispenses useful, time-saving cleaning tips, tricks, and recommendations. This includes everything from developing a daily cleaning routine to decluttering and organizing around the home, for a global audience spanning 165 countries.

Why I like to learn from her? She wasn’t always a cleaning pro (or fan) and understands that people are looking for practical, time-saving solutions to everyday problems.

I have recently been battling a mildew problem in our master shower. So I have been starting new habits to try to beat the problem. Here are some steps I am taking. It has not resolved the problem completely, but I see improvements. There is one problem spot that I will be working on differently, because now I know it is under the grout :( I share how I learned this towards the end of this article.

1.Make and use your own daily shower spray. Use a refillable spray bottle, preferably one that has a “mist” setting. For each 8 oz of water, add 10 drops of tea tree, oregano or cinnamon essential oil (or a blend of all three). Mist the everything in the shower area even the curtain (or doors) after each use.

2.Use a squeegee after you shower or towel-dry the tiles and tub.This is my least favorite thing to do to keep the shower free from excess waster, but it works! The excess waster is exactly where the mold and mildew like to grow.

3. Open a window, keep the door open or use the exhaust fan. Try airing out the bathroom for a minimum of 30 minutes after a shower or bath. Not only does the exhaust fan help remove stink, it also helps remove moisture. A good indicator there is too much moisture in the bathroom is when the mirror gets fogged over.

Staying healthy is not just about what we put inside the body, it’s about what we are exposed to outside the body.Keeping mold and mildew out of your home and using non-toxic ways of doing that is important.Many times we see mildew or mold on the grout lines and it never seems to go away.Here is a quick test I learned from my friends over at Sashco: on how to determine if the mold is on or under the grout.

Apply bleach-soaked cotton balls to the mold.

Take a cotton ball soaked in liquid oxygen bleach (made a paste from the Laundry Booster I sell on my website (or you can use household chlorine bleach) an apply it to the mildewed caulk.

If the mildew disappears immediately, you'll know it's growing on top of the caulk.

To clean, make a 50/50 paste with our Bathroom Cleanser or Laundry Booster and let it sit for a minimum of 30 minutes. Rinse and repeat, if necessary.

Why put more metal in our lives when it’s not necessary.You've probably heard that it’s not good to use antiperspirant deodorant because of the aluminum,but what about aluminum foil and food?

Studies have been done that “clearly indicate that the use of aluminum foil for cooking contributes significantly to the daily intake of aluminum through the cooked foods. The amount of leaching was found to be high in acidic solutions, and even higher with the addition of spices.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the obtained values considered to be unacceptable.Finally, excessive consumption of aluminum from leaching aluminum foil has an extreme health risk effects.Aluminum foil may be used for packing but not for cooking.” http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol7/7054498.pdf

Although aluminum foil can be recycled, it must be clean of debris to be recycled properly.When used for grilling or baking in the oven, it’s often impossible to remove all the cooked on food.Many times aluminium foil is used to line pans to make clean up easy.

Here are some replacement options for disposable aluminum foil:

Parchment paper

Silicone mat

Grill basket

Cookie Sheet - for cooking or inverted to make a casserole dish cover

Cast Iron Pan

Other Food - use sturdy veggies like potatoes, onions or lemons to cook on

Stainless Steel Grill Basket

Stainless Steel Grilling Dome

Aluminum is a non-renewable resource so use it wisely and reuse it whenever possible.Better yet, use one of the Aluminum foil alternatives listed above for the oven and grill. They options are safer, more eco-friendly, easy to acquire and implement.

Imagine how difficult it is for you to go zero-waste at home. Now, think about all the items in a grocery store. Stores have much more of a variety of products, many more areas to consider when trying to reduce their waste.

Finally, a supermarket in the USA receives the Zero-Waste Designation from EPA.Just announced, the Giant Food Store at 481 West Penn Ave. in Cleona, Pa., is the chain’s first store to attain U.S. Environmental Protection Agency zero-waste status. They still have waste but it’s what they do with the waste that matters. The EPA zero-waste designation signifies that 90% or more of the store’s total waste is being diverted from a landfill or incineration.

“There are a lot of little things we do that get the customers excited and help us drive down waste at the same time,” said Andrea Doygun, manager of the Giant store in Cleona, PA. “For example, we clean the empty frosting containers from the bakery as well as corn crates from produce and put them out for our customers to take them home and reuse them. Every little thing counts.”

Today, I write this article to help the store celebrate this milestone but also to help you.

Many times in the past, I have been asked about my laundry room routine. One main part I like to highlight is the “soaking bucket” I often use.

It’s a 3-gallon bucket I acquired from my local Winn Dixie bakery many years ago.

It stays in my laundry room, right next to the washing machine.

When I have an item that needs attention for stain removal or soaking, I drop the item into this bucket, which is dry, and there the items stays until I am ready to deal with it.

This bucket is super handy!When I am ready to address the stain, I take the item out of the bucket, fill the bucket with warm water and add a few tablespoons of my Laundry Booster (aka oxygenated bleach), dropping the item back into the bucket to soak overnight. Usually I will pretreat a stain with a little of my laundry soap and then drop it in. Why overnight?Oxygenated bleach works WAAAAY better the longer it can work. Most of us were introduced to oxygenated bleach as a laundry booster. Tossing a few tablespoons into the washing machine is ok, but it really doesn't allow the product to work as well as it could. Much like trading a $20.00 bill for a $5.00 bill. Not the best thing to do, although you still end up with cash. As with many natural products, the longer that ingredients are allowed to work, the better they work. an item can soak in the dissolved oxygenated bleach, the better the stain removal, whitening or brightening effect will be. Most chain bakeries receive frosting/icing in 3-or-5 gallon buckets. Most will give you them for free and you simply rinse out all the leftover frosting at home. I was happy to see that Giant Food Store is rinsing them out before giving them away. I can tell you from my personal experience that blue icing is a bitch and takes forever to rinse out! I can only imagine what that blue icing does to the inside of my body when I eat it….uggghhhhh!

So, if you are looking to improve your laundry routine, simplify your stain removal process or give yourself a place to easily soak/whiten fabrics; the bucket is a must.Pick one up today and tuck it in a convenient place in your laundry room. Mine sits wedged between the washer and the wall, eagerly awaiting dirty stuff.